Nodding Along

She walked in

With a huge booty behind her

And

She complained about her kids to me

And how busy she had been this summer

Saying she felt like their taxi driver 

I asked how old they are

And she said they're

7 and 12 years old

One of them on the spectrum of autism

And she says she doesn't know if she can survive another month and a half

Having them both at home . . .

And then he walked in

Looking and smelling drunk 

His hair a mess

And his eyes barely open

He said he quit his job

Because he was starting every morning with three shots of whiskey

Before going into work

And then he'd drink more at work

And a little more after work

He's 32 years old

And he is slurred his words to me

Then he told me that he is going AA this afternoon 

And 

I hope he really does go . . .

Another man walks in after him

And he started talking about his marriage

And how much his wife has been complaining lately

He said that no one wants to work anymore 

That no one knows how to be broke

He told me that this is the worst his wife has ever been

That he has never seen her this stressed out

And she is taking it out on him

He gets angry 

And again

Says that no one wants to work and make money 

And that everyone wants to stay at home and scroll through their phones

But

I know he's been unemployed for years now 

While his wife has been working her ass off . . .

And then another lady comes in

And she starts complaining about how much she's been working

And that she fought with her boyfriend yesterday

Telling him she needs a vacation 

Telling him that she is getting burnt out

She lost her dog six months ago

And buried herself into her job to cope

But now

She is running on empty . . .

. . .

It was a weird day today

Everyone I ran into was struggling

And for some strange reason

They vented to me

Some of them barely know me

I didn’t really have anything to complain about

So

I just listened to them

And nodded along.

CH 8/6/24